One of many rooms excavated at the ruins of Herculaneum, Italy, which was totally covered by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. These frescoes in House of the Black Room demonstrate the high level of art and culture that was enjoyed by the Herculaneans.

Glass paste wall mosaics, shell decorations, lava foam, and nymphaeum topped by theatrical masks in House of Neptune and Amphitrite at Herculaneum, demonstrate how every detail of life was preserved by the manner in which the eruption flowed into the city so rapidly, filling every nook and cranny.

Nearly three hundred skeletons discovered in 1980 still lie inside the Boat House at Herculaneum, Italy where they had fled the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. The Boat House was located on the shore back in 79 AD. Today the water lies nearly a mile away, as the eruption added so much land to the coastline, … Read more

Standing on the bridge at the entrance to the excavations at Herculaneum in Italy, one gets a dramatic view of how deeply buried the city was by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. The volcano sent wave after wave of pyroclastic (liquified) mud toward the city, which completely encased and obliterated it. The city was so … Read more

Standing above the excavation site at the ruins of Herculaneum, Italy. The town was completely buried by successive, rapid flows of pyroclastic volcanic mud from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. As a result, the entire city was perfectly preserved in the encased mud, right down to frescoes on the walls. Note the … Read more